NEW YORK, USA – The US Open 2018 Men’s raw is out, but will it be a successful title defence for Rafael Nadal or will the rest of the Big Four challenge in their first Slam all together since Wimbledon 2017?

The Spaniard returns as he bids for a fourth US Open title, in a year that has seen him dominant once more on clay, of course culminating in an 11th French Open title. His win at the Toronto Masters helped secure him the top spot, and he comes into his US Open title defence with just scant time on the hard courts.

As the sun dips on David Ferrer’s career he will face hs compatriot once again, and he has the prospect of facing British No. 1 Kyle Edmund in the fourth round. Then we are set for some great recurring match-ups – the final of last year (Kevin Anderson), US Open 2017 and Roland Garros 2018 semi-final and Wimbledon 2018 quarter-final (Juan Martin Del Potro) and then of course another round with Roger Federer.

Nadal’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)

Roger Federer in the second round of the Western & Southern Open, ATP Cincinnati 2018 | (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

The gamble to skip Toronto paid off for Federer as he hit the Cincinnati final in search of his 99th title, but he came up against an inspired Novak Djokovic, who finally ticked off that check-box of all nine Masters.

If the potential of meeting whichever Nick Kyrgios turns up in the third round was not enough, he could face Djokovic once more in the quarter-finals – and the Serbian’s win in Cincinnati puts him firmly in the mix as one of the favourites.

The last few slams have sparked up a home that we might one day still see the Tower of Tandil lift a Slam title once more, although he seems to have run up against Nadal in three of the last four Slams.

Landing in this section of the draw are the returning Andy Murray (who could be a round three match up) and Stan Wawrinka, who has a blockbuster first round against Grigor Dimitrov. The rest could be epic rematches.

Del Potro’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)

Alexander Zverev in the final of the ATP Mutua Madrid Open, 2018 | (Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images)

The big buzz in the lead up to the US Open was the appointment of a new coach to Zverev’s team in Ivan Lendl. Zverev already has Jez Green in his team as Murray’s former trainer, and this makes a lot of sense as a next move. Zverev has never made it past the second round of the US Open – this must surely be a barrier to be broken?

He may well fancy his chances to make it into the second week of a Slam for the second time this year.